When we say it was really difficult to choose a piece of artwork to use for the cover of our anthology, we mean it. We had so many amazing submissions, among them this portrait by Al Hess (he/him):
When we saw it, we knew it had to make it into the anthology. It screamed "feature article" to us, one about an inspiring public figure.
We wanted to know: Who is this person? What pronouns do they use? What's their story?
Here's what Al had to say about his work when he submitted it:
"In considering your entry requirements, I was overwhelmed with choice in who to depict, because nonbinary doesn’t look like any one thing. I wanted to portray someone graceful and intelligent who is in the public eye in some capacity, like a political figure or inventor, leading the way toward a better future. I have a love of holographic sci-fi tech and 1930s art deco aesthetics, so those made their way in as well."
It'll look something like this in the anthology:
This is where you come in.
What's the feature article about? Is it about this person's work as an inventor? Or a politician? Maybe they're a businessperson, or a fashion designer. In short, why is this person interesting to an international audience in the year 2068? We're excited to see what you come up with!
Our submissions are currently open until July 15th, 2021. Check out our submission guidelines for more details.
About the artist: Al Hess (he/him) is author of World Running Down, Key Lime Sky, Yours Celestially, and the award-winning Hep Cats of Boise series. He does portraits in both pencil and oil paint, and loves drawing fellow authors' characters nearly as much as his own. He writes cozy and uplifting stories with queer, trans, and neurodiverse representation. You can find him on his website at alhessauthor.com.
EDITS: May 23, 2024
Updated Al's bio.
When this blog post was originally posted, we were running a Kickstarter to raise funds to produce the magazine. We are getting ready to run a second Kickstarter to take pre-orders! Check out our pre-launch page by clicking > HERE < !